Silvereye

SCI Name:  Zosterops lateralis
Protonym:  Sylvia lateralis Suppl.ind.orn. p.lv
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Zosteropidae / Zosterops
Taxonomy Code:  silver3
Type Locality:  Tasmania [ ? or mainland] .
Author:  Latham
Publish Year:  1801
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

ZOSTEROPS
(Zosteropidae; Ϯ Madagascar White-eye Z. maderaspatanus) Gr. ζωστηρ zōstēr, ζωστηρος zōstēros  belt, girdle; ωψ ōps, ωπος ōpos  eye; "Genus. ZOSTEROPS*.   Rostrum mediocre, gracile, arcuatum; mandibula superiore vix emarginata; naribus basalibus, linearibus, longitudinalibus, membrana supra tectis, rictu inermi.  Alæ mediocres; remigibus prima et quinta fere æqualibus, secunda tertia et quarta paulo longioribus, fere æqualibus, primariis secundarias paululum longitudine superantibus.  Pedes subfortes, subelongati; acrotarsiis scutellatis.  Cauda æqualis.  Caput gracile, concinnum; plumulis periopthalmicis subsericeis albis cingulum subprominentem efformantibus.   ...   The true Sylvia, if we select the slenderly-formed Warblers of Europe, such as the Motacillæ hippolais, trochilus, &c. Linn., as the types of the genus, are set apart from almost all the other species by the formation of their wing, in which the first quill-feather is extremely short, in some instances, indeed, almost spurious.  Of the foreign groups of the family we have already observed that the New Holland genera Malurus and Acanthiza come nearest the European type by the same construction of the wing.  The present group essentially differs from it.  The first quill-feather is long, almost equal to the second, which together with the third and fourth,—all of them nearly of a length,—are the longest.  The nares also are linear and longitudinal, thus differing from the oval form of the European type.  In other respects the characters of these two groups have a general accordance.  Besides the disposition of the wing-feathers, we may also mention the scutellation of the tarsi, the even tail, and the unarmed rictus, as additional marks of distinction from the before-mentioned New Holland Sylviadæ.  From the genus Hylophilus of M. Temminck, which has lately been separated with much judgement from the Sylvia of Dr. Latham, and which also has the first quill-feather elongated and nearly even with the rest, our present group may readily be distinguished by a much more gracile and arcuated bill, in which the nares also are of a different construction.  The Motacilla Maderaspatana of Linnæus, (Sylvia Madagascariensis, Lath.), belongs to our group, which seems to have a very wide dispersion.    1. DORSALIS  ...  Sylvia annulosa, var. β.  Swains. Zool. Illust. pl. 16.  ...  Orbitæ plumulis albis vestitæ.   ...   *Zωστηρ cingulum, and ωψ oculus." (Vigors & Horsfield 1826); "Zosterops Vigors and Horsfield, 1826, Trans. Linn. Soc. London, 15, p. 234. Type, by subsequent designation (Lesson, 1828 Man. Orn., 1, p. 286), Motacilla maderaspatana Linnaeus." (Mayr in Peters, 1967, XII, p. 290). The majority of white-eyes have a ring of white feathers around each eye.
Var. Fosterops, Fosterzops, Zostenops.
Synon. Cyclopterops, Luteozosterops, Malacirops, Nesozosterops, Oreosterops, Parinia, Sanfordia, Speirops, Tephras, Woodfordia, Zosteropisylvia.

zosterops
Gr. ζωστηρ zōstēr, ζωςτηρος zōstēros  belt, girdle; ωψ ōps,  ωπος ōpos  eye.

laterale / lateralis
L. lateralis  of the side, lateral  < latus  side  (cf. Late L. lateralis  of brick  < L. later  brick).
● ex “Rusty-sided Warbler” of Latham 1801 (Zosterops).

SUBSPECIES

Silvereye (chloronotus)
SCI Name: Zosterops lateralis chloronotus
chloronotos / chloronotus
Gr. χλωρος khlōros  green; -νωτος -nōtos  -backed  < νωτον nōton  back.

Silvereye (vegetus)
SCI Name: Zosterops lateralis vegetus
vegeta / vegetus
L. vegetus active, sprightly < vegere to be active.

Silvereye (cornwalli)
SCI Name: Zosterops lateralis cornwalli
cornwalli
Edward Mayler Cornwall (1861-1937) Australian naturalist, collector, photographer (syn. Podargus strigoides, syn. Pomatostomus temporalis, subsp. Zosterops lateralis).

Silvereye (chlorocephalus)
SCI Name: Zosterops lateralis chlorocephalus
chlorocephala / chlorocephalus
Gr. χλωρος khlōros  green; -κεφαλος -kephalos  -headed  < κεφαλη kephalē  head.
● ex “Pic à gorge jaune de Cayenne” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 784, “Petit pic à gorge jaune” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Yellow-headed Woodpecker” of Latham 1782 (syn. Piculus flavigula).
● ex “Martin-pêcheur à tête verte du Cap de Bonne Espérance” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 783, fig. 2, and “Green-headed Kingsfisher” of Latham 1782 (syn. Todiramphus chloris).

Silvereye (westernensis)
SCI Name: Zosterops lateralis westernensis
westernensis
● Western Australia (syn. Glyciphila melanops, subsp. Stipiturus malachurus).
● Western Port, Victoria, Australia (subsp. Zosterops lateralis).

Silvereye (pinarochrous)
SCI Name: Zosterops lateralis pinarochrous
pinarochrous
Gr. πιναρος pinaros  dirty; χροα khroa, χροας khroas  colour, appearance  < χρως khrōs, χρωτος khrōtos  complexion.

Silvereye (ochrochrous)
SCI Name: Zosterops lateralis ochrochrous
ochrochrous
Gr. ωχρος ōkhros  pale yellow; ωχρα ōkhra  yellow-ochre; χροα khroa, χροας khroas  colour, appearance  < χρως khrōs,  χρωτος khrōtos  complexion.

Silvereye (lateralis)
SCI Name: Zosterops lateralis lateralis
laterale / lateralis
L. lateralis  of the side, lateral  < latus  side  (cf. Late L. lateralis  of brick  < L. later  brick).
● ex “Rusty-sided Warbler” of Latham 1801 (Zosterops).

Silvereye (vatensis)
SCI Name: Zosterops lateralis vatensis
vatensis
Vate I., New Hebrides / Efate, Vanuatu.

Silvereye (valuensis)
SCI Name: Zosterops lateralis valuensis
valuensis
Valua I., Banks Group, New Hebrides / Mota Lava, Vanuatu.

Silvereye (tropicus)
SCI Name: Zosterops lateralis tropicus
tropicus
Late L. tropicus  tropical  < L. tropicus  of turning  < Gr. τροπικος tropikos  of the solstice  < τροπη tropē  turning  < τρεπω trepō  to change.
● Erroneous TL. "O-why-hee" (= Princes I., Java); ex “Tropic Crow” of Latham 1781 (syn. Dicrurus paradiseus) (according to Stresemann 1950).

Silvereye (macmillani)
SCI Name: Zosterops lateralis macmillani
macmillani
● Sir William Northrup McMillan (1872-1925) Scottish philanthropist, big-game hunter, landowner in East Africa 1901-1925 (syn. Anomalospiza imberbis, subsp. Estrilda astrild, syn. Myrmecocihla albifrons pachyrhyncha, syn. Sarothrura ayresi).
● L. Macmillan (fl. 1937) US explorer, adventurer, collector in the Pacific and East Indies (subsp. Todiramphus sanctus, subsp. Zosterops lateralis).

Silvereye (nigrescens)
SCI Name: Zosterops lateralis nigrescens
nigrescens
L. nigrescens, nigrescentis  blackish  < nigrescere  to become black  < niger  black.

Silvereye (melanops)
SCI Name: Zosterops lateralis melanops
melanops
Gr. μελας melas, μελανος melanos  black; ωψ ōps, ωπος ōpos  face.
● ex “Rollier à Masque Noir” or “Kaialora de la Nouvelle Hollande” of Levaillant 1802, and “Black-faced Crow” of Latham 1802 (subsp. Coracina novaehollandiae).
● ex “Streaked Falcon” of Latham 1787 (Leucopternis).
● ex “Ypacahá cara negra” of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 373 (Porphyriops).
● ex “Lindo pardo copete amarillo” of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 101 (Trichothraupis).

Silvereye (griseonota)
SCI Name: Zosterops lateralis griseonota
griseonota / griseonotus
Med. L. griseum grey; Gr. -νωτος -nōtos -backed < νωτον nōton back.

Silvereye (flaviceps)
SCI Name: Zosterops lateralis flaviceps
flaviceps
L. flavus  yellow; -ceps  -capped  < caput, capitis  head.
● ex “Tordo cabeza amarilla” of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 66 (syn. Xanthopsar flavus).

Silvereye (tephropleurus)
SCI Name: Zosterops lateralis tephropleurus
tephropleura / tephropleurus
Gr. τεφρος tephros  ash-coloured  < τεφρα tephra  ashes; πλευρα pleura  flank, side.